The 47-year-old newspaper vendor walked 75 yards before collapsing and later died in hospital from internal injuries.

Pc Harwood had denied manslaughter on the grounds that he used reasonable force, saying he thought Mr Tomlinson, who was drunk at the time, was being deliberately obstructive.

He accepted during the trial that he was ‘wrong’ to have hit and pushed him, telling the court: ‘Now I’ve seen all the evidence and I know how poorly Mr Tomlinson was, I’m sorry that I got involved. I shouldn’t have hit him with a baton and pushed him.’

He also said if he had realised Mr Tomlinson had been walking away from police lines he ‘would not have gone near him’.

Ian Tomlinson collapsed shortly after being knocked to the ground by Pc Harwood (Picture: Getty)

Mr Tomlinson’s family cried as the verdict was delivered at Southwark crown court.

They said afterwards that the not guilty verdict ‘really hurts’, adding: ‘It’s not the end, we are not giving up for justice for Ian.’

Deborah Glass, deputy chairwoman of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, said Pc Harwood would face internal disciplinary proceedings and that ‘significant questions’ remained over his actions.

She said: ‘While the jury has today acquitted Pc Simon Harwood of manslaughter, it is clear that significant questions remain in connection with his actions on the day Ian Tomlinson died.

‘Whether or not those actions were reasonable will be tested further at a misconduct hearing in September, which I have directed will be held in public. There are also questions in this case that the Metropolitan Police Service must answer.’